Leaked report: SAS on ground in Libya for months

SAS forces have been on the ground in Libya for months, leaked documents indicated as a former army chief said the military is now readying itself to intervene.

A confidential briefing given to US congressional leaders by the king of Jordan is said to confirm the special unit has been deployed since the beginning of the year.

According to notes of the meeting in the week of 11 January, King Abdullah reportedly said his country’s own special forces “will be imbedded [sic] with British SAS” in Libya.

The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on reports, but Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said SAS involvement is significant.

"If we had no interest in further involvement, we would not waste money putting special forces there," Mr Kemp told the Daily Telegraph.

"It gives the government options. It doesn't mean there will be action but it would suggest we recognise a threat from Lybia and we would want to be prepared."

According to the memo detailed in the Guardian, the monarch met with US congressional leaders – including John McCain, the chairman of the Senate armed services committee, and Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee. Also present was the House of Representatives speaker, Paul Ryan.

Mr Kemp added: "I would expect special forces involved in intelligence collection and surveillance to plan future offences against Islamic State. They will also be identifying British allies on the ground and helping advise them."

King Abdullah said UK special forces needed his soldiers’ assistance when operating on the ground in north Africa, explaining “Jordanian slang is similar to Libyan slang”.

The king also highlighted that British forces had helped in building up a mechanised battalion in southern Syria, headed by a local commander and made up of tribal fighters, to combat Bashar al-Assad’s army, and that his troops were ready with Britain and Kenya to go “over the border” to attack al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Under a plan disclosed late last year, the UK will offer the new Libyan government 1,000 troops as part of an internationally coordinated effort.

Intelligence analysts have previously said they believed special forces were already in Libya and “escorting MI6 teams" to meet with Libyan officials about supplying weapons and training to the Syrian army and to militias against Isil.

However, in recent weeks there has been a flurry of international activity to stabilise Libya, with British officials prominently pushing a peace process.

The debate over military involvement is also fuelled by the migrant crisis.

Two weeks ago the Prime Minister told his counterparts at a summit in Brussels he wanted to expand a current EU naval force operating in the central Mediterranean to stop hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing from Libya to Europe.

The redefined mission would involve more British ships and other assets such as helicopters being deployed in the “territorial and internal” waters within “several kilometres off the Libyan coastline”, according to a UK government source.

The Jordanians are believed to have turned to Britain after becoming frustrated over perceived US inaction over the Middle East in recent months.

David Cameron has rejected a call from Angus Robertson, the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, for the SAS to be subject to parliamentary oversight

Jordanian embassies in London and Washington did not comment on the leaks.